Pledges abound to help MSMEs grow the nation

Debasish Roy, ET BureauDec 20, 2009, 04.31am IST

MCX's essense and I n d i a m a r t ' s team's presence marked the second day of the Milagrow conference . Rajeev Karwal and his team were on the floor with sleeves rolled up to make the best out of the best opportunity in the whole spectrum of business.

The second day of the Milagrow World SME Conference 2009 concluded with Rajeev Karwal, Founder CEO of Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions and Pravir Kumar, joint secretary, Ministry of micro-small and medium enterprises , released a study on "Comparative Study of MSME policies across Indian states. The study recommends that 20 per cent of public procurement should be reserved for micro, small and medium enterprises and eProcurement should be encouraged, amongst many another recommendations .

Jyotiraditya Scindia, union minister of state, department of commerce and industry in his recorded session expressed his views on "collaboration and not just competition between India and foreign small and medium businesses." He quoted that despite the slowdown , India has achieved 7.98 per cent GDP growth in which MSME's contribution is remarkable because MSME is very fundamental to the economy.

Addressing the subject "How the hidden jewels of India became the visible powerhouse in the Indian economy during the slowdown," Pravir Kumar, joint secretary , Ministry of MSME quoted "This is really a miracle that the MSMEs have achieved such a phenomenal growth despite the slowdown . The MSMEs have not only survived the hardship of times, they have come out with flying colors by contributing about 40 per cent of exports and employing 60 million people."

Demonstrating the credit issue, he said, "Terms are very strict for getting capital support for MSMEs in comparison to big players."

The technology base of the MSMEs is also very weak, which is one of the major reasons for them lagging behind. He also revealed that Rs 700 crore has been provided through SIDBI to develop the funding base of the MSMEs along with the conversion of 25 per cent of working capital to grant loans and urged the MSMEs to make prudent use of government schemes beneficial to MSMEs.

Lastly, he concluded his speech by complimenting the MSMEs for showing such a resilient attitude insipite of all the odds and termed them as real heroes of the Indian Economy.

In one of the panel discussions titled on 'Marketing on a Shoestring' , eminent personalities from various industries like Dilip Cherian, founder partner , Perfect Relations, Meena Kapoor, CEO, Astroyogi.com, Harish Bhatia, business head, MyFM, Avinash Gupta, president, Tally Solutions and Rajeev Karwal, Founder CEO, Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions shared their experiences on how they built their businesses and the challenges faced.

The other panel discussions , focussed on Collaborating with MSMEs from developed countries to enhance the competitiveness of MSMEs in developing countries and alternative sources of funding for MSMEs. Chief Guest, Dinsha J. Patel, minister of state (independent charge), ministry of micro-small and medium enterprises, in his inaugural session addressed on the vision of the ministry of MSMEs in the short and long term plan. He shared that the 11th Five Year Plan will raise Rs 1,000 crore for the development of the MSME sector.

He further stated, "In the Indian economy, the MSME sector is the second largest contributor in terms of GDP after the agriculture sector . It provides almost 80-90 per cent of employment to the Indian population and has 45 per cent share in production and 35 per cent in exports. In the year 2006, the MSME Act generated huge employment opportunities for the common people and we hope the trend will continue ."